We’ve made no secret in the past that us gentleman at With Leather are huge supporters of women who believe that pole dancing is a sport. There are thousands, if not tens of thousands, of women across the world who currently compete for state, regional, national and international championships in pole dancing, and I think that’s fantastic, because it totally validates all those times that I’ve gone to “competitive pole dancing” clubs for “research”. And now, I’m proud to “report” that pole dancing is making the lives of many children better as well.

Fifty-one students at Newcastle University, in an effort by the school’s pole dancing club, broke the Guinness World Record for consecutive hours of pole dancing earlier this month, after they exhibited their athletic skills for an amazing 30 hours, raising $1,500 for charity in the process. And while that may not sound like a lot of money for their efforts, perhaps next year they’ll provide an ATM for the people in attendance.

So is that easy, ladies? You know, pole dancing for 30 hours?

We were raising money for the Infants Trust, an African children’s charity, and we beat our target,” she said. “Everybody’s been really generous.”

Melissa, who pole danced for a total of two and a half hours over the day, said the attempt to break the previous world record of 24 hours had not been easy.

“You can’t use any moisturiser because it’s a steel pole,” she said. “People had skin ripped off their hands and burns all over them.” (Via Chronicle Live)

But that’s why it’s helpful to have 51 people on hand to switch in and out, making it a little less painful on everyone. And to be fair, it was 50 women and 1 man who were pole dancing for charity. I’d hate to take any glory away from the bro who is either extremely charitable or the smartest man alive.

As for the criticism these women and one bro face for trying to legitimize pole dancing, the Newcastle gang believes that efforts like this can not only help charities, but also show people that this isn’t just some sleazy dance for strippers. When asked for comment, the girls’ boyfriends who attended this event said, “Oh yeah, totally athletic.”